the moment i knew
by goosepickle
Summary: In which Austin said he'd be there and Ally knows he's not coming. One shot.
1. Chapter 1

She's nominated for an award. Her first award, to be exact.

Best Breakout Artist of 2014. Teen Choice Awards.

It's a big deal to her and everyone knows that.

"Austin, you're going to be there, right?" she asks, a hopeful gleam in her eye.

"Of course I will. I promise," he smiles. "I know how important it is to you. And I'll be cheering you on when they announce your win. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

And Ally's excited because her three best friends would be there to cheer her on, even if she didn't win, which she didn't expect to.

"Thanks, Austin," she smiles bashfully, as she throws her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

[page breaks here]

She's walking down the red carpet, stopping for a few photos and an interview here and there.

Dez and Trish are inside, patiently waiting for her to return.

And Austin... She didn't know where he was. And she's worried, but she keeps smiling.

He said he wouldn't miss it. And he wouldn't.

Right?

"Ally!" a reporter calls to her, making her head turn. "Where's your other half?"

She blushes. "He's here somewhere, right?" Her words come off as a joke, but she was really beginning to question it.

The brunette smooths out her yellow dress and continues to amble down the carpet.

"Miss Dawson!" another reporter yells out, snapping a photo. "Take a photo with Miss Pope, please!"

And she graciously stands with the other brunette singer, Cassadee.

If this were any other time, she would feel starstruck, but she is preoccupied with thoughts of Austin, hoping to hear a reporter call out his name at any second.

And she hopes to see his "baby, I'm right here" smile, so she keeps her brown eyes locked on the entrance to the carpet.

She makes small conversation with Cassadee while impatiently awaiting Austin's anticipated arrival.

"How are you doing, though?" Cassadee asks, a smile on her face, noticing the pained expression on Ally's face.

And Ally's mind races.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," his words echo in her head.

"I'm good," she lies. "What about you? How's the album doing?"

[page breaks here]

She was now sitting in her seat; Trish and Dez were to the left of her and to the right was an empty seat.

Demi Lovato wins an award that Ally didn't catch, but she claps anyway, a nervous feeling filling the pits of her stomach.

And she feels so stupid.

She was wearing a yellow dress, Austin's favorite color, heels that made her want to amputate her feet, lipstick that she didn't even know if it looked attractive, and a necklace Austin had bought here for her sixteenth birthday, two years ago.

She had made sure she looked perfect to impress a certain blonde.

But here she was with no one to impress.

[page breaks here]

She looks around the room, seeing the crowd, even Trish and Dez, laughing at the antics of the hosts, Lucy Hale and Adam Levine.

And normally, she'd be hanging onto every word that the male singer spoke, because, heck, he's Adam Levine.

If Trish didn't nudge her in the ribs, she would barely notice the actual words leaving the singer's mouth.

"And best new breakout artist of 2014 is..." Adam opens the envelope carefully. He reads the name and smiles. "Ally Dawson!"

Her friends scream and shout, as promised. And she smiles, making her way into the aisle.

But she looks around. Austin is still absent. And in that moment, she knows. She knows he's not coming.

[page breaks here]

The show is ending and the hosts are saying their thanks and introducing Danielle Bradbery as the closing act.

But before Danielle's song can even start, Ally bolts out of her seat and out of the auditorium, desperate to be alone.

Desperate for Austin.

Because he promised.

But it's not long before she hears feet coming after her.

"Ally!" Dez yells, grabbing her tiny wrist. He sees the tears pouring down her face. "What's wrong?"

And Trish is looking at the scene in front of her with a look of horror on her face.

And Ally breaks. The wall she had been holding up all night finally cracks.

The sobs come out heavily. "He said he'd be here," she chokes out, throwing herself into her red headed best friend's chest as he hugs her.

Neither Trish nor Dez say a word, because what could they say? Austin promised.

[page breaks here]

Ally sits in a seat at an after party she was invited to hours before. And she should be stoked because it was Adam Levine's after party. And he invited her personally.

But Austin still wasn't there and that's all she was worried about.

"Ally Dawson, right?" a voice says.

She looks up, her eyes widening at the man in front of her. "Correct," she nods hastily. "Adam Levine, right?"

He nods. "You would be correct. Congratulations on the win, by the way."

She smiles shyly. "Thank you. Really. It means a lot."

And Adam laughs at her modesty and continues to make conversation with the teenager.

It's not long before he takes a sip of his drinks and gives her a look. "So, where's Austin Moon at tonight? I thought he'd be here."

And it's like her vocal cords shut down, but that's okay, she guesses. Because she had no idea where he was.

She shrugs and changes the subject.

Because she knows he's not coming.

[page breaks here]

It's almost an hour after her conversation with Adam when she cracks again.

She's sitting on a couch she doesn't recognize with faces that she does recognize staring at her, confused.

But Trish and Dez look on to her sadly, not knowing the right words. Because even they know. They know he's not coming.

Regardless, Dez walks over and plops on the couch next to his best friend, putting his arm around her comfortingly, letting her cry.

And Trish walks over, rubbing Ally's back soothingly. "It's okay, Ally."

And Ally picks her head up, rubbing her eyes. "What are you supposed to do when... the person who means the most to you is the one who doesn't show up?"

And they don't answer. Because they don't know what she's meant to do.  
Because he promised.

[page breaks here]

And she's still wearing her yellow dress and her lipstick and she stops crying long enough to converse again.

People are smiling and telling her "congratulations" and hugging her. And other artists who she had yet to meet before now are praising and she smiles.

She takes one last look around the party before she leaves, because despite being happy for herself and having fun, something is missing.

Austin.

Because he said he'd be there. He promised.

But she knew he wasn't coming.

[page breaks here]

And it's not until 2am that her phone begins ringing.

She stares at the caller ID; her breathe hitches in her throat.

"Hi," she answers meekly, her voice barely a whisper.

"Hey," Austin says breathlessly. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it."

And Ally sighs. "I'm sorry too."

She hangs up.

Because she knows he isn't there.

And her heart breaks.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know this was meant to be a one shot, but I felt for ending it so sad. So, here ya go, friends. Let me know what you think :)**

**Hope you're all having a good new year!**

**(And the song I used is "Into Your Arms" by The Maine. Rad song and rad band that you should all check out.)**

* * *

He messed up.

He knows that.

He never intentionally meant to miss the award show. It's just that he was working so busily in the studio on his new album and more specifically, a song he had written for her.

And he wanted to sing it to her after the award show and after her win because he knew she would win

But he lost track of time and fell asleep and he wakes up and it's two in the morning and the show has been over for hours.

"No, no, no" he mutters to himself, as he feels like the world's biggest screw up. And douche bag. And he's certain that the brunette has a few choice words that she would like to call him.

He hastily dials her number.

"Hi."

Austin breathes heavily, because he knows she's mad. He knows she's upset and he doesn't blame her, because he messed up. Because he promised he'd be there.

"Hey," he lets out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it," he says lamely.

He doesn't offer her an explanation, but he knows she deserves one. But explaining things would mean telling her how he felt, because of the song he wrote for her.

And right now, he isn't sure he's ready for that anymore.

"I'm sorry too." She hangs up.

And all he hears is the dial tone.

"No, no," he repeats, this time angrily.

"No," he says sternly, throwing his phone across the room.

* * *

It's been almost a month since their phone call.

A month since she's talked to him.

And that hurts a little bit, but he knows he deserves it.

And he's angry at himself, because he isn't sure she'll forgive him this time. Because this time he broke a promise and he knows how much promises mean to her. And how much the award had meant to her.

It's three in the morning, so, he rules out rational thinking, because he's angry and he's upset. And he needs to fix this.

And he forgets about how scared he is to tell her how he feels. He grabs his guitar and it takes him another hour, but he writes her a new song.

And then he gets into his car and floors the gas pedal all the way to her house.

Because he's going to fix this.

* * *

It's almost four in the morning and Austin knows that Ally is probably going to want to murder him (even more so than she already does, really) because it's too early for this nonsense.

But he knows if he waits any longerp, it will be too late.

And he's almost lost her too many times and he knows this will be the last straw. Because oh, boy, did he screw up this time.

He throws the guitar behind his back and climbs up her familiar trellis, praying to God he doesn't fall.

He reaches her small window, in one piece, and he slowly pushes on it, hoping it's unlocked.

And it is, and he would pump his hand in the air in victory, but he's too scared of falling right now, so he makes the mental note to do it later.

He throws one leg over the window sill, anxiety filling his stomach.

"Ally," he whispers once he's sure that he's inside.

"Ally," he says again, seeing her turn to face him.

The brunette's chocolate eyes squint at him, confused. Her eyebrows furrow together and she sort of juts her head out, gawking at him, because why is he here? "Austin," is all she says.

"I'm so sorry, Ally."

"I know."

"I just... I was writing this song for you and I wanted to sing it to you after you won, but I fell asleep and I woke up at 2am and... Damn, I'm just so sorry, Ally," he sighs, unsure if this is getting through to her.

"Austin," she whispers. "It's four in the morning. You should go home."

And he knows Ally fairly well and he knows this is code for "Leave, because I don't want to discuss this" but he's sticking his ground, because he's not giving up without a fight.

"I'm not leaving, Ally."

"You should," she says, this time a little more sternly, throwing herself out of bed and standing in front of the boy who towers over her in height.

"I'm not," he simply states. "This isn't the song I originally wrote for you," he says, ignoring her pleas for him to leave.

"It's sort of an apology," he confesses, sincerity in his hazel eyes. "Because man, did I mess up."

"It also stands as a confession song," he blurts out, looking at the floor.

"Confession?"

"A line in the song is, 'I'm falling in love, but it's falling apart,'" he states as if it's the most normal thing to say. "Because, well... I messed up and if I don't fix this, I'm going to lose you and this is all gonna go to crap and fall apart."

Her breathes hitches in her throat, because falling in love?

But she smiles a small smile that's just big enough for him to see. And it's enough for him to continue.

He strums a few chords, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"There was a new girl in town," he sings quietly. "She had it all figured out. And I'll state something rash. She had the most amazing..."

Her mouth falls open. "Austin!" she playfully smacks his shoulder for being inappropriate.

And he laughs as he finishes the line. "...smile."

She blushes, embarrassed.

"I bet you didn't expect that," he shrugs, as if he's carrying a real conversation. "She made me change my ways. With eyes like a sunset, baby... And legs that go on for days."

She giggles, trying to stay mad at him, but she really can't.

"I'm falling in love, but it's falling apart," his cheeks turn a bright pink shade. "I need to find my way back to the start. When we were in love, things were better than they are. Let me back into... into your arms."

She feels a tear welling up in her eyes.

"She made her way to the bar. I tried to talk to her, but she seemed so far," he gives off a faint smile, remembering the first day they met. The day that changed his life dramatically. "So out of my league; I had to find a way to get her next to me."

And she doesn't believe it. He had felt so strongly towards her for almost three years and she never noticed.

"Oh, she's slipping away," his voice cracks when he sings the truth he'd been avoiding for so long. Ally was quickly slipping away and he didn't know if he could stop it.

"I always freeze when I'm thinking of words to say. And all the things she does makes it seem like love. If it's just a game, then I like the way that we play," he winks at her, making her giggle.

"Let me back into your arms," he finishes the song, staring at the girl in front of him.

"Austin, I..." she stops herself, not knowing what to say.

He had hurt her pretty badly, but here he was, confessing his love for her at four in the morning, and she felt the same way, but she was so scared that he'd make more empty promises.

But a month away from him had been literal Hell, because he was her other half and neither of them had planned to fall in love with one another, but here they were.

"You didn't show up. You broke your promise and I was so hurt. It meant so much to me and you didn't show up. And then you didn't event try to fix it until a month later," she chokes back a pained sob. "How do I know you won't hurt me again?"

He thinks it over for a second. "You don't know that," he admits. "But I can't keep going on with my life pretending like you don't exist, Ally. You mean too much to me for me to do that. I know I messed up and I know it's probably far too late, but I need you to know that I am so in love with you and I don't ever want to hurt you again."

And she believes him, because yeah, he messed up. He wasn't there. But he is human he made a mistake and how could she deny this apology?

"I..." she freezes. She's still so afraid. "I'm scared."

And he knows what she means. He knows that she loves him too. And that's why she's scared.

"I am too," is all he says before taking his guitar off and kissing her. Kissing her like it's the last thing he's going to do for a really long time.

And she kisses back, smiling against his lips.

And the broken bits of her heart come back together.

And she knows.

She knows he's always going to be there.


End file.
